This is pretty much a story for children but it brings to the fore a VERY important point: that the ONLY way we will get people to treat animals properly is by educating our children. It's in early childhood that empathy and love for animals is born and that is what we need to promote and foment. Adults can learn -and I know that for a fact because I have my husband as proof!- but it takes a looooong time and A LOT of constant reinforcement and indoctrinating to achieve a good result while, with children, it's just a matter of sharing our love for the animals and teach them that they are NOT a source of entertainment, like a toy could be, that they are feeling, sentient beings that deserve our respect and love and they pick it up and absorb it just like a dry sponge put in water. The story is actually very nice - I even teared up reading it!